Prince: An acquired taste in the '80s

The album cover for "Purple Rain", one of the top albums of the '80s.

No one was more associated with any colour than this artist was with purple. He wore it, sang it and
made millions off it. However, the effect Prince had on the 1980s went far beyond one album, with several hit albums, singles, and movies. By the end of the decade he was even hanging out with the Caped Crusader, Batman, himself.

Recently, I heard Prince died and I had this whole mix of emotions. It is never nice to hear someone that young has died. On a musical level, I never really liked Prince when I first heard him, but his music gradually grew on me as he released more and more. And he just kept popping up in odd places.

Like no other artist, Prince was an acquired taste.

Purple Rain

Music did not become a significant part of my life until 1984, part way through Grade 9. I started listening to the radio, then got my first ghetto blaster for Christmas.

One of the songs that was on the charts when I first tuned in was, “Let’s Go Crazy” by Prince. It was the second single off his album “Purple Rain”, following the success of, “When Doves Cry”. Both went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. Eventually, the title track “Purple Rain” would make its way to the radio, followed by “I Would die 4 U”. That last song I also saw on “Solid Gold” one Saturday night when it made the chart there.

“Purple Rain” was also a movie, so the album doubled as a sort of sound track. Prince starred in it as a musician, in a semi-autobiographical role, and it would go on to win the Oscar for best original song score.

One other note of interest for me was that Clarence Williams III played Prince’s father in “Purple Rain”. I loved Williams when he played Linc Hayes in the “Mod Squad”.

To this day, I have not seen “Purple Rain”, although maybe it is time I should.

Controversy

There are few things in the world I detest more than censorship. Speech has to be balanced with good taste, but people do not have a right not to be offended.

“Purple Rain” had another single that drew some attention for its controversial lyrics, putting me in the position of defending Prince’s right to say it, not what he actually said.

“Darling Nikki” contains the lyrics ”…masturbating with a magazine…” It caught the attention of Tipper Gore, one of the people in this world whose views I detest most. Before she was the Second Lady of the United States (married to former Vice-President Al Gore) she was a crusader for morality in music. "Darling Nikki" was on her list of songs that she eventually wanted banned. Her efforts ultimately led to warning labels on records, which is not necessarily bad, but her efforts at censorship do offend me.

So, Prince and I are in common cause over free speech. “Darling Nikki” and “Purple Rain” were not my first choice, but then again I don’t listen to them, or ever intend to purchase them. That’s how I express my distaste.

Heard it before: “1999” vs. “Sussudio”

Not too long after I got my ghetto blaster, I started buying tapes. One of the first I bought was “No Jacket Required” by Phil Collins. He was one of my favourite singers, largely on the strength of “Against All Odds”, and “One More Night”, which was the first single from “No Jacket Required”. I had also heard some other songs from the album on LA-107, which had an album-oriented rock format. That meant it played several songs off an album, not exclusively the latest single released.

One of those other songs I had heard, which eventually duplicated the success of “One More Night” by going to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, was called “Sussudio”. It was catchy, but I never quite understood what it was all about. I heard on one of the video shows Phil Collins said it was the sound his drum machine made.

His drum machine came into play later. He was accused of copying Prince’s “1999” when he recorded “Sussudio”. Interestingly, at that point I had no idea what anyone was talking about because I had never heard “1999”. All the Prince any radio station played when I started listening to music was from “Purple Rain”.

Collins admitted he had programmed the riff from “1999” in his machine, but said that was a common practice. The riff acted as a starting point from which to innovate and create.

Pre-history

Once the mystique wore off “Purple Rain”, and its singles, radio stations widened the music from Prince they played. Finally, I heard “1999” and the similarity to “Sussudio” was unmistakable. Partly, I had this whole controversy in mind too, so I was not listening to it with innocent ears. Still, I liked “1999” much more than anything from “Purple Rain”.

The song would again become very popular when the calendar flipped to the year 1999, as everyone sang it, especially as the new millennium approached.

I finally also heard “Little Red Corvette”, which was Prince’s actual breakout hit. Again, I liked it more than anything from “Purple Rain”, or “1999”.

Bad influence

One of the things about Prince that kind of grossed me out was his sexuality, and hypersexuality. I really did not see what others seemed to see.

Worse though, to some he was a bad influence on others. One example was Sheena Easton. She had experienced success with her single “Morning Train” and the theme song from the James Bond movie “For Your Eyes Only”, and won a Grammy for best new artist. She portrayed this image of a wholesome, young Scottish lass.

Then she started hanging out with Prince. She wore stronger makeup, more miniskirts, and was more provocative on stage and in interviews.

One interviewer said she went from being the girl next door to the girl at the end of the block.

Her next album was sassier, with the single “Strut”. That was followed up by “Sugar Walls”, which talked about “…slipping inside my sugar walls…” It was quite provocative – and written by Prince.

Again, they ran afoul of unofficial censor Tipper Gore. “Sugar Walls” was on the same list as “Darling Nikki”.

Around the World in a Day

The follow-up album to “Purple Rain” was “Around the World in a Day”.  Like a lot of albums that follow legendary albums, it did not have the same level of success, but its singles still populated the airwaves for a year.

By the time it was released in 1985, I was listening to the radio a lot while I played Intellivision. Again, I started to hear a song on LA-107 that sounded suspiciously like Prince. It was called “Pop Life”, and it was kind of catchy. It peaked at seven on Billboard. Oddly, it was released in Canada first, but was the third single released in the U.S.

What followed was the first Prince song I genuinely liked. It was called “Raspberry Beret” and it was just a catchy song. It would rocket all the way to number two on Billboard.

“Around the World in a Day” went all the way to number one on the Billboard album chart, where it stayed for one week. It also produced the first single I really liked by Prince, but it would not be the last.

Parade

Prince was back on the silver screen in 1986 with “Under the Cherry Moon”. I heard about the movie long before “Parade”, the album to accompany the movie, was in stores. That was courtesy of advanced promotion, most notably updates and interviews on “Entertainment Tonight”. All I really recall about “Under the Cherry Moon” is the use of black and white.

I also joked that red would displace purple in Prince’s stylings.

Then pretty soon, I heard this song on the radio that caught my ear. It was different. Soon, I discovered it was “Kiss’ by Prince. It eventually went all the way to number one on Billboard.

It was a strange feeling, but I was beginning to like Prince. I was not the only one. My best friend Chris Vining was getting into him as well – but we were reluctant listeners.

One Friday night, we were cruising down Mayor Magrath Drive in Lethbridge in our friend Dave’s truck. He was playing a mixed tape he made, and "Kiss" came on. We always used to turn around at the Woolco, which was at the extreme south end of the strip. Well, standing there were three really good looking girls we liked. We waved as we passed them.

Then Vining broke the news.

“Oh great, they’re going to think we listen to Prince!’

We all cringed, even just a little bit.

Anonymous songwriter

While “Kiss” was moving up the charts, a new band had also made its debut. They called themselves The Bangles, and had a single that caught on very quickly. It was called “Manic Monday” and went all the way to number two on Billboard.

It was written by a songwriter with the mysterious name of “Christopher”.

It was actually Prince.

Sign ‘O the Times

Prince was back again in 1987, continuing his prolific run in the decade, with the album “Sign ‘O the Times“. The first single was the title track, which really didn’t do anything for me, although it did go all the way to number three.

The next single that caught my eye was “U Got the Look”, which was another duet with Sheena Easton. Her transformation to a sexier, more suggestive performer continued. It was a good song, I thought, and went all the way to number two.

You oughta be in pictures

The last time I ran into Prince’s work was at the tail end of the decade. The year 1989 seemed so far removed from 1987 because I was going into my third year of university and it seemed so long since high school and “Sign ‘O the Times”.

For more than a year, anytime I went to a movie, I would see this mysterious trailer. It was dark, and had this dark plane fly around. The screen would go black and then, slowly appearing, was the Batman logo. It would be the most hyped movie in years.

There, doing the soundtrack, which was not as prominent as “Purple Rain” or “Under the Cherry Moon”, was Prince. The album went to number one, as did the single “Batdance”.

It was the last time I ever listened to a new release by him.

Lady friends

Prince also gave a start to other artists in the 1980s, most notably women.

One was Sheila E. She worked on “Purple Rain” and some of his other albums. She would also release a couple notable songs of the decade – “The Glamourous Life” which went to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and for which she was nominated for two Grammys, and “A Love Bizarre”, a duet with Prince,  which went to number 11 on the Hot 100. Sheila E and Prince even had a brief romantic relationship for a short time.

Another one was Apollonia, or Apollonia Kotero. She played the female lead in “Purple Rain” and actually recorded her own version of “Manic Monday” in 1984, before The Bangles came along. She left Prince’s world to play the character “Apollonia” in my favourite Friday night soap opera, “Falcon Crest”. She played a girlfriend to Lance Cumson, played by Lorenzo Lamas.

A third was Vanity, who was Canadian singer and actor  Denise Katrina Matthews. She met Prince at the 1980 American Music Awards where he named her “Vanity”. He also made her the lead singer of the girl group Vanity 6. She would resign that role in 1984, so her role as the lead in “Purple Rain” was taken over by Apollonia. Vanity would experience some acting success in “The Last Dragon” then her most prominent role as the female lead in “Action Jackson” opposite Carl Weathers.

It always seemed Prince had beautiful women around him.

The years after

During the 1990s, I never saw nor heard Prince, except when there were jokes about him. He had a falling out with his record company, and changed his name to a symbol, he described as a combination of male and female. He became known for years as the artist formerly known as Prince.

Someone joked at the end of that first year he did that, that in the new year he would change his name to a sound only dogs could hear.

Parting thoughts

Tributes have been pouring in for Prince. The accolades have been overwhelming – trailbreaker, innovator, artist. It is all true. He really was one of a kind who put his own signature on rock music.

For me, he was not one of my favourites, or someone whose records or tapes I would buy. But his music, especially “Let’s Go Crazy”, “When Doves Cry”, “Raspberry Beret”, “Kiss” and less so “Little Red Corvette” and “1999”, was part of the soundtrack of the 1980s. It was part of growing up. Any time I flipped on the radio, there was a good chance a Prince song would be playing or coming up. He was talented and prolific.

He was one of a kind for sure. Initially, I really didn’t find his music that appealing, but eventually it grew on me. I’ll never forget Prince – or the colour purple.

David Bowie: Two memorable duets

David Bowie performing in 1983.

He was already a star at the dawn of the new decade – Ziggy Stardust, Major Tom and much more.

Yet, as the 1980s unfolded, David Bowie would add to his work, his life, and his legacy with a string of successful albums. He branched out into acting, and launched one of the most elaborate and successful live concert tours of the decade.

Amidst all that, Bowie continued to collaborate with other artists on songs that had a profound effect on me.

The world lost one of the greats when David Bowie passed away recently.

Teaming up

At the dawn of the 1980s, David Bowie teamed up with Queen to record “Under Pressure” in 1981. It would shoot to number one in the United Kingdom, Bowie’s third song to do so. It was an unforgettable song, as the voices of Bowie and Queen’s lead singer Freddie Mercury meshed together nicely.

It was also a sign of things to come when it came to duets.

Greatest success

Two years later, Bowie released the album “Let's Dance” in 1983. It would go platinum in both the UK and the United States. The album featured a lot of songs that became synonymous with this period in Bowie’s career. There was the title track “Let’s Dance”, as well as “Modern Love" and “China Girl.”

One odd memory I have of Bowie happened when I was in Grade 9, so late 1983. There was a battle being waged in Lethbridge between two radio stations that wanted to be considered the top rock station: 1090 CHEC, an AM station, and LA-107 FM.

LA-107 was the upstart, and waged the campaign, trying to be noticed and dislodge CHEC from everyone’s collective music conscience. One of my classmates had a white t-shirt with red, three-quarter-length sleeves that had stencilled in red felt letters on the front “I love LA-107”. On the back it said, “I hate CHEC.”

There was also a TV commercial, which had a man sitting on a bus bench. A rollerskater skated by wearing headphones blasting “I Don’t Wanna Dance” by Eddie Grant. Then the guy saw LA-107 stencilled on the bench and changed stations to, “Let’s Dance” by David Bowie.

It’s funny – both those stations eventually stopped playing that kind of music, either by changing format or folding completely.

Anyway, Bowie released another album in 1984 that produced another hit single, “Blue Jean”. The video featured Bowie in full face makeup. I recall seeing that on one of the video shows of the time, “Video Hits” after school on CBC I believe. He eventually won a Grammy for that video.

Duets

However, the most memorable songs for me that David Bowie recorded were ones he did with other artists.

Christmas

Although it did not occur in the 1980s, the first time I heard his most memorable duet was at the end of an episode of “Entertainment Tonight”.

Quite honestly, I had no expectations of him, given all my experience of David Bowie was him being out there. That had recently been cemented when one of my buddies told me Bowie had named his daughter Zowie Bowie. Wow.

So, when Mary Hart signed off “Entertainment Tonight” one day in  mid-December, I was not expecting much when she introduced Bowie singing “Little Drummer Boy” with Bing Crosby. I recall my initial reaction was how could they even go together.

Boy was I wrong.

That song, “Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy” was actually part of Crosby’s final Christmas special on CBS. Five years later, on Christmas Day of 1982, it hit number three on the UK charts.

Bowie’s voice in that song absolutely melted my heart. It was awesome.

Jazz

In 1984, I started listening to music and by 1985 had received my first ghetto blaster for Christmas. I used to listen to LA-107 a lot, partly because I bought into the hype it was better than CHEC. I started listening to various segments they had, and soon heard this haunting song from a movie starring Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn.

The movie was called “The Falcon and the Snowman” and its soundtrack produced a song called “This is Not America”. Initially, the song was recorded by the jazzy Pat Metheney Group, but producers wanted more. Consequently, Bowie was brought on board to provide the vocals.

The song is about disaffected youth who get involved in drugs and espionage. Bowie’s haunting vocals and the music by the Pat Metheney Group fit those themes very well.

“This is Not America” hit the top 40 in both the U.S., peaking at number 32, and the U.K., peaking at number 14.

Again, Bowie’s vocals touched me deeply.

Famine relief

Then, to round out that year, came a collaboration of mythic proportions.

My hero Bob Geldof had already begun to raise global consciousness about the drought and famine in Ethiopia, with Band Aid, a gathering of musicians who raised money through the release of their Christmas song, “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” at the end of 1984.

Geldof was following that up with a pair of all-star concerts in London, England and Philadelphia he called “Live Aid”. There were dozens and dozens of acts set to play.

When the concert was set to broadcast live on American TV, there was a very special segment that had been taped earlier.

It was David Bowie and Mick Jagger singing their own version of “Dancing In the Street”. They sang and danced, and set the tone for an incredible broadcast.

Bob Geldof is one of my heroes, fuelled in part by what he did with Band Aid and Live Aid.

“Dancing In the Street” is a part of that. It hit number one in the United Kingdom and number seven in the United States. All proceeds went to the famine relief efforts.

So, by then, David Bowie had cemented a reputation that he played well with others. All these great collaborations are just another part of his mystique.

On tour

The 1980s had a lot of mega-tours of musicians. They would descend on a venue and stage an elaborate show for two hours or more to promote the artist and whatever album they were selling.

One of the biggest tours of the 1980s was the “Glass Spider Tour” in 1987, which even made a stop at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

It was all the talk at one point, especially how Bowie was lowered onto the stage in a massive glass spider.

My best friend Chris Vining told me he had heard mixed reviews of the tour. The Georgia Satellites, one of his favourite bands at that moment, warmed up the crowd, which was continued by Duran Duran. Bowie, however, could not sustain that momentum.

Interesting, I thought. If the concert was all about the show and less about the music, that sounded good. Often it seemed to me, Bowie was as much or more about the show than the music anyway. There was never any danger he would not give the crowd a show. By that point, he did not really have a strong single out there, so that’s all he could give them – beyond all the favourites he had already recorded.

The other cool thing I recall about that tour was another musician I liked, Peter Frampton, was playing with Bowie. I was just getting into his album, “”Frampton Comes Alive”, which my brother recorded for me. That would have been worth the price of admission itself.

Fans flocked to the 86-show tour. It grossed $86 million, making it the fourth highest tour in the decade.

You oughta be in pictures

The first time I saw David Bowie in a movie poster was for “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” (1983), in an issue of “Tribute” magazine. He played a prisoner of war in a Japanese camp.

The next time I saw him was playing Jareth, the king of the goblins in “Labyrinth” in 1986. That was a movie created by Jim Henson, the master puppeteer behind Sesame Street and The Muppets. Two years later, in 1988, he played Pontius Pilate in “The Last Temptation of Christ”.

David Bowie just continued to expand his horizons, adding acting to his ever growing body of work.

Parting thoughts

Never could I say I was a fan of David Bowie. I never owned any of his albums or actively sought out his music in any way. Yet, I have always been impressed with his desire to innovate and create and branch out. He never seemed to want to settle for anything, and I respect that.

However, there is one part of David Bowie that does sit with me.

Whenever I hear his name, I am instantly reminded of him and Mick Jagger dancing, singing, and raising money for a good cause. And I am reminded of an incredibly touching Christmas song that truly touched my soul.

They are two duets that had a profound effect on me in different ways.

For that, I am eternally grateful, and quite sad that David Bowie will no longer be around to share more of himself.

So long Northlands Coliseum

An artist's rendition of the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.

Rexall Place hosted its last Edmonton Oilers game on April 6, drawing attention from around the world. For me though, it will forever be the Northlands Coliseum. It may soon be consigned to the dust bin of history, but the Northlands will always hold a special place in my heart, with a wealth of memories.

Not just TV

Growing up in the 1980s, the Northlands Coliseum was always front and centre on Hockey Night in Canada. It was the home of the Edmonton Oilers who, by the mid-80s, were contending for and winning Stanley Cups. Their home ice became a fixture on TV broadcasts, especially since they won four of their five Stanley Cups on home ice.

From my perch on the farm, I never thought I’d ever see an NHL hockey game. It didn’t even dawn on me how close I was, when I left home for university in Edmonton in 1987.

That soon changed, as did my perspective of the world. My horizons were set to expand and soon.

It was in February of 1988 that my beloved Boston Bruins came to town. My roommate and best friend growing up, Chris Vining, and I secured tickets to see them play. The university’s engineering students periodically ran events that included a party, ticket to an Oiler game, and bus ride there and back. One of the engineers on our floor got us a couple tickets to see the game – and I was pumped.

Chris had already gone to see games at the Northlands before, including a Chicago game with the engineers earlier in the year.

It would be my first time, and I will never forget it.

As the bus approached, the stadium began to loom in the distance. It was actually pretty surreal. What I had seen so many times on TV, that stadium with the blue hue, was now right in front of me.

It was even more impressive inside.

The biggest arena I had been in to that point was the Lethbridge Sportsplex, where the Lethbridge Broncos then Lethbridge Hurricanes played.

The Northlands dwarfed the Sportsplex. I was struck by the size when we walked to our seats. The Northlands looked like the Sportsplex – with a whole bowl added on top. It was massive.

That’s when I also first really understood what nose-bleed seats meant. We had a long walk up, and were almost at the top of the arena. We were so high we could look down into the broadcast booths. In fact, I tried to check out their monitors for replays once the game started.

To make the experience complete was Paul Lorieau coming out to sing the national anthems, and the rink announcer I had heard so many times before on the farm.

It was just like TV – except I was there!

The games

The Bruins would win that game 7-4, giving me the perfect birthday present. But that was just the beginning of my experiences at the Northlands.

We saw the Oilers beat the Calgary Flames later that same season. The next year, I was back in the rafters to see Wayne Gretzky play his first game back in Edmonton after his much-talked-about trade to the Los Angeles Kings. Our seats were so high up, I could actually reach back and touch the wall, near where it met the ceiling. I would see the Bruins a few more times, and the Vancouver Canucks once. I saw the expansion San Jose Sharks make their first visit to Edmonton, sat right behind the net to see the New York Rangers, and was sitting ice level to see the Minnesota North Stars. The North Stars may have been the biggest team I saw in person too. I accompanied my friend Mark Saxton to see his beloved Buffalo Sabres play once. I befriend a man who was wheelchair bound and loved hockey. I acted as his attendant, sitting by his side in the seats reserved for people with wheelchairs and their aids, to see rookie Teemu Selanne with the Winnipeg Jets and the great Peter Stastny in his final few years with the New Jersey Devils.

My last hockey experience at Northlands, which by then was the Edmonton Coliseum, was in the summer of 1996. I had this friend who worked for Peter Pocklington, and needed some help with an event called “Breakout ‘96”. It was a street hockey tournament right in the coliseum parking lot. It was a lot of fun, and I still have a shirt and a couple cups from the event.

The concerts

Hockey was far from the only reason I went to the Northlands Coliseum. There was also music.

Again, I never in my wildest dreams on the farm thought I would ever see any of the musicians I heard every day on the radio.

That changed in the fall of 1988.

It was impossible for me to believe but Boston, my favourite band, was coming to Edmonton. It would be their first trip ever this way. I heard one of my floormates in res was getting tickets, and I asked if she could get me one. She did and, a month or so later, I saw my favourite band play all my favourite songs.

Next up was Chris DeBurgh later that school year. We were down on the floor for that one, unlike Boston where we sat in  the stands, albeit quite low down with the glass removed.

The last one I saw was Bryan Adams. It was initially sold out, but organizers opened up seats behind the stage, so a buddy scooped up a bunch of those and we saw it. That was awesome too, because Bryan Adams was not only one of my favourites, but a Canadian icon. I was glad to see him.

Parting thoughts

The other day on the news, Mark Messier, one-time captain of the Edmonton Oilers, said a building can take on a life of its own. He and all his former teammates could feel that in the Northlands, which held a lot of memories for them.

It held a lot of memories for me too. Not just hockey games and concerts, but the times they were in and the people I was with.

It was a great place because it gave me a lot of great memories, but it did the same thing for thousands of others.

It may have become the Edmonton Coliseum, Skyreach Centre, and Rexall Place, but to me it will always be the Northlands Coliseum, a quaint, friendly, comfortable place to watch a game.

Thanks for the memories.

Remembering my dad

One of the most important parts of life in the 1980s for me was my family. My dad passed away this past Oct. 12, 2015, and I thought it fitting to just publish the eulogy I wrote and my sister-in-law Candius Vogt so eloquently read at my dad's funeral.

My dad and me at my Confirmation in Grade 7.
Could my head get any bigger? Could my dad be anymore handsome?

Paul Vogt was born on October 29, 1930, the son of Max and Anna Vogt, in Kleinpogel, Germany, a village of a few hundred people not far from the Oder River, where he often played as a boy.

He was the first son, born after his sisters Clara, who died after a few months, Irmgard, and Maria. After him came his brother, and best friend, Bernard, followed by sisters Barbara and Monica.

When he started school, he had to walk a few kilometers to a nearby village. He enjoyed school and athletics, and was pretty good at both. One year, he qualified for a district track meet in both the 100-metre dash and the long jump, but could only choose one. He chose the dash, while his friend chose the long jump. Their school ended up winning both events. However, he did regret not being able to go to school longer.

Paul was Roman Catholic, and his faith was important to him. He went to church regularly and took his kids to mass every Sunday too, whether they liked it or not. When he talked about his own upbringing, a source of pride was his confirmation, where he, Irmgard, Maria, and Bernard, were all confirmed by Adolf Bertram, the Cardinal of Breslau.

In 1939, Paul watched the German army march through his village on their way to invade Poland. That started the Second World War, which threw the entire world into turmoil. The war did not affect life too much at first. Once his father was taken into the German army though, Paul had to take on greater responsibility helping his mother to run the farm.

One weekend, his mother was visiting his father at the front, when Opa Vogt told her to take the family and head west. The Russians were coming. She packed up her family and they left, while the rest of the family stayed behind. Ultimately, the Vogts would become Displaced Persons and trek 1,500 miles until they landed in western Germany.

Once they settled again, Paul would find work from local farmers, then later in the coal mine near the Dutch border. Along the way he enjoyed his first Oktoberfest, before he and his family made the decision to immigrate to Canada.

The Vogt family landed in Canada in 1954, where they would work in the sugar beet fields near Picture Butte. In the off-season he, and brother Bernard, looked for work in Calgary, where they often found something in construction.

One of the cool things to do in the ’50s was go dancing at the German-Canadian Club in Calgary. It was there in 1956 that Bernard set Paul up with a young, beautiful German woman named Alice Jetz.

By 1957, the Vogt family had bought a farm near Brooks. Paul, his parents, brother and two sisters had all migrated to Brooks with the family.

Two years later Paul and Alice were married in January of 1959 and in November their first child George was born.

In October of 1960 Paul and Alice, along with Paul’s parents, and brother and his wife, became Canadian citizens. It was a very important day, so much so they made the front page of the Brooks Bulletin newspaper! At that point Alice was pregnant again, and had a daughter, Barbara, in January of 1961.

Paul and Alice decided it was time to make their own mark on the world, moving to the Coaldale area in 1964. Eventually, they settled on a place six miles north and 1.5 miles west of Coaldale, where they had a mixed farm of sugar beets, wheat, barley, hogs, and chickens.

In February of 1970, their youngest son Robert was born.

George would move off to college in Calgary. George met me and when it was time to meet his parents, dad welcomed me into the family with open arms. I have felt his kindness and love ever since then, and that’s been 35 years.

Paul and Alice would continue to farm together until 1991 when they decided to lease the farm, and retire into Lethbridge. They began a whole new, different life in the city.

No longer burdened with the stresses of farming, dad underwent a transformation, from farmer and provider to more of a family man.

He enjoyed spending time with his two grandchildren Jessica and James. Then, when Barb got married and had two girls of her own, Chelsea and Megan, he played a role in their lives, driving them to and from school every day, and going to every recital and concert he was invited to.

By then George and his family had moved to Nanaimo, and mom and dad started making regular trips to the island. Dad enjoyed watching his grandchildren play sports, like basketball and soccer.

As the years went on, Jessica married Jeff, and dad was thrilled to go out there for the celebration. Just last month Chelsea got married, and dad was happy to spend time with relatives, and welcome Chelsea’s husband Shadow to the family.

Through all that, he never stopped being a dad to his children. He and mom welcomed their son Rob back home to live when he was between jobs, then going to college to start a new career. When Barb was injured in a fall, dad and mom helped her get back on her feet.

The family always tried to stay connected. George and Candius visited at least once a year, but more often two and three times a year to spend a week with dad and mom. Dad always looked forward to their visits. A tradition that grew over time was Sunday afternoon coffee, where Barb visited every Sunday, and Rob came when he could.

Dad was an honest, hard-working man. He had a lot of integrity. People in our family said if you wanted a job done right, you went to Paul. He always wanted to be fair in whatever he did too, whether it was the way he treated his family, or dealt with others.

In his last days, he was talking about his care, especially from the nurses. He said they were excellent, but you have to be nice to them and they will be nice to you. I think that’s a pretty good way to live your life generally.

Dad loved to read, go for long walks, work in his yard, and religiously watch his game shows, including The Price Is Right, which was a passion for more than 30 years.

He also loved to talk about politics.

Voting was important to him. He voted in the first post-war free elections in Germany, and in every federal election after moving to Canada. It is ironic that today is election day. I’m sure dad is up there giving an earful to some of the politicians he never agreed with – so watch out Ralph Klein.

More likely he’s up there with his brother Bernard and his brother-in-law Witold and they’re talking about farming.

Rest in peace dad.

Three years of Rob Vogt80s

Today, we celebrate three years of RobVogt80s.

One of the reasons I chose Sept. 11 to start this blog is because, as I wrote in that first post, “I have always respected milestones and anniversaries and been interested in the interconnectedness of the world. In the past, I have launched new projects on Sept. 11 to commemorate the occasion. For a long time I have also thought about how I could reflect on a formative period in my life – the 1980s. I have so many memories and thoughts I would like to share. Being a writer, it seemed logical the best place to do that would be to start my own blog. So, bearing all this in mind, I am starting a new adventure – my own blog about the 1980s“.

It was also because it is an easy date to remember.

A lot has happened over the past three years, and it has been an interesting journey.

In the beginning

Ironically, I came across some old newspapers last week from the days leading up to the launch of this blog. It again illustrated what life was like for me before I had a blog. So many times, I thought to myself, “I’ve got to start a blog”, because something I came across or was talking about would make perfect fodder for it.

Now, looking back over the 217 entries over these three years, many of those ideas have turned into posts. And that is gratifying, refreshing, and a bit inspiring to me.

Starting this blog symbolized some things for me. The biggest one was that I stopped being all talk. That has always been an Achilles heel for me. I’ve had so many ideas, yet rarely followed through on them.

This blog was different. Having determined to launch it on Sept. 11, I had a deadline, which has become a friend since I started working in newspapers, so I had to teach myself how to blog. It really wasn’t that hard – once I started. And that is one of the biggest lessons I have learned in life: the hardest part of anything is starting.

So, on Sept. 11, we launched RobVogt80s. It was a little rough at first, and unfocused. Eventually I settled on a structure that works.

The voice

Another thing I often thought about was if anyone would be interested in reading my blog. My goal was always to get these stories out and, eventually, I would stitch them together into some sort of book. As it turned out, there are people out there who are interested. I have received some comments, both directly to the blog and by private e-mail. That in itself is gratifying.

It's funny because, one of the things I used to say back then if you asked me what I want to do with my life was, "I just want to be heard." It was nebulous and cryptic, and I was just trying to be philosophical, pseudo-intellectual really. Yet, with the 14,000 newspaper stories I've written, the five NaNoWriMo novels, and the 217 entries on this blog, that is exactly what I have done.

Interesting.

The neverending story

Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned, is a belief I actually just had confirmed. Once upon a time, while I was musing about starting this blog, someone asked me if there was really enough to write about.

After 217 entries over three years, I can honestly say I have barely scratched the surface. There are so many things I want to write about that I have not got to yet. Topics I thought I’d address right away, have been set aside in favour of more timely ones. So, even if the hopper was empty, there is this whole other pile of things waiting.

It is very comforting.

Parting thoughts

One of the things I have kept trying to do with this blog is set goals. At first, they were completely unrealistic. Three hundred entries in a year? That’s crazy. This blog would be my full-time job. Then I thought maybe 100 in a year. Given, I am now averaging a little more than 72 a year, that seems high but more realistic.

The one thing about goals is, once I set them, I try hard to meet them. That’s why, if you look at the entries, they tend to come in bunches – right after I set a specific goal.

The challenge with that is that I really need an entry to percolate. I want every entry to have an introduction, body, and conclusion, hopefully with some insight, lesson, or observation to end it. That takes time.

The best part is, that this blog is whatever I choose to make of it. For now, as I look back on three years in the “blogosphere”, I’m pretty happy with 72 entries a year, which works out to a little more than one a week. Not the worst situation.

So, having said all that, I will see you at the next milestone – be it 30,000 hits, 300 entries, or four years. I can hardly wait.

Pat Quinn: Coaching success at all levels

This is Pat Quinn from the era of the 1979-1980 NHL season when
he coached the Philadelphia Flyers and won the Jack Adams Award
for NHL coach of the year. Photo from the Hockey Hall of Fame website.

As the calendar flipped to start the 1980s, there was one team in the National Hockey League that

everyone was talking about: the Philadelphia Flyers. They had reeled off a record-breaking 35-game unbeaten streak and were favoured to win the Stanley Cup.

They were led by their sophomore coach, a former player known for being tough and hard-nosed. His name was Pat Quinn and, after that memorable rookie season, he would go on to have one of the most distinguished coaching careers in Canadian hockey history.

Quinn was back in the news recently because, after his death last year, he recently had a street in Vancouver named after him in March.

Almost unbeatable

The 1979-1980 season was Quinn’s first full year as head coach of the Flyers. His team would record the longest undefeated streak in league history, going 35 straight games without a loss. They finished the season in first place overall with 48 wins, 12 losses, and 20 ties for 116 points.

The Flyers advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final. Awaiting them was the New York Islanders, a team that had come close many times, and was on the verge of breaking out. They were loaded with talent, featuring the likes of Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy, and Denis Potvin. The Islanders prevailed, winning in six games. The cup-winning goal is still one of the iconic moments of the 1980s: Islander Bob Nystrom tipping the puck past Flyer goalie Pete Peeters in overtime at Nassau County Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.

There was some consolation for Pat Quinn, as he was awarded the Jack Adams trophy as the league’s best coach at the end of that season.

The rest of the decade

Quinn coached two more years with the Flyers, going 41-24-15 for 97 points in 1980-1981, then getting fired in 1981-1982 after 72 games with his team sitting with a record of 34-29-9.

He resurfaced with the Los Angeles Kings for the 1984-1985 season, engineering a turnaround for the franchise and taking them to the playoffs. That year his team won 34 games, lost 32, and tied 14, losing in the first round of the playoffs. In the 1985-1986 season, the Kings won just 23 games, losing 49, and tying eight to finish out of the playoffs. Quinn resigned 42 games into the 1986-1987 season, after his team had won 18, lost 20, and tied four.

He had signed a contract to coach the Vancouver Canucks while still under contract with L.A. The resulting dust storm led to his resignation. He was banned from coaching until 1991, but went to work as president and general manager of the Canucks starting in the 1987-1988 season.

Truly, the 1980s had been an up and down decade for Pat Quinn.

The years after

It would be the 1990s that Pat Quinn had his greatest success. He started coaching the Vancouver Canucks for the last part of the 1990-1991 season, taking them to the playoffs. The next year, the Canucks won the Smythe Division regular season title, and repeated the feat the following season in 1992-1993. Quinn also won the Jack Adams trophy again as the league’s best coach in 1992. In 1993-1994, the Canucks finished second in their division, but advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final, before losing to the New York Rangers in seven games, in one of the most thrilling finals of the decade.

After that magical run, he stepped back from coaching and concentrated on his front office duties until he was fired in 1997.

He joined Toronto in 1998, coaching the Maple Leafs until 2006, then coached the Edmonton Oilers for the 2009-2010 season. He never repeated the success he had in either Philadelphia or Vancouver.

However, he was legendary on the international scene. He coached the Canadian Men’s Olympic team to gold in the 2002 games in Salt Lake City. He followed that up by coaching Team Canada to a championship in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Not quite done yet, he took the helm of Canada’s World Junior team, and led them to gold in 2009. He had one other gold medal from coaching Canada’s Under-18 men’s team in 2008.

Parting thoughts

Pat Quinn really was just getting started as a coach in the 1980s, but what an incredible start it was. I recall that 1979-1980 Flyers team very well. Everyone kept an eye on them as their unbeaten streak grew and grew. Would they ever lose? They didn’t for three months, which is just incredible.

The Flyers may have come up short in the Stanley Cup final, but that season set the stage for an incredibly coaching career. It is telling he took two teams to the Stanley Cup final 14 years apart, and won the coach of the year two times, 12 years apart. That shows longevity, and truly an amazing ability to adapt to a changing game to keep experiencing success.

He also proved to be one of Canada’s greatest, if not their greatest, international coaches, with Olympic, World Junior, and World Cup gold medals to prove it. What makes these accomplishments more profound is the different types of players he had to mould into a team. With Olympic and World Cup teams, he had to take mature professionals and turn them into a cohesive group on the ice. Many were used to being the stars on their respective teams, and some had to accept taking on a lesser job as a role player. That same situation existed with the World Junior team, but in that case he was taking literally boys and trying to make them into a team. It is quite an extreme from young to mature hockey players, and Pat Quinn was able to coach them all.

It was a remarkable career, truly remarkable.

Church dance: “We don’t have to take our clothes off”

You ever wonder how different life would be if you said yes to something instead of no, or vice versa? I’ve had a few of those in my life.

Recently, I thought of one when I heard “We don’t have to take our clothes off”, this one–hit wonder from the ‘80s by an artist named Jermaine Stewart.

I cannot think of a more fitting song at a church dance.

The decision

It was the fall of 1986 and I was at the Sportsplex in Lethbridge watching a high school football game with my buddies Randy and Dave. Our beloved Kate Andrews Spartans had lost again, and we were leaving the field when Randy pointed to a nearby church.

He kind of liked a girl who went to that church. Through his connections, he heard there was a church dance that night. She might be there, and he kind of wanted to check it out.

Dave and Randy were always up for trying something new.

I, on the other hand, was always the cautious and tentative one. My first thought was, that we weren’t invited. What would happen if we got caught? I was afraid of making a scene.

The others all scoffed, so I just went along.

There really was no need to worry.

The dance

We could hear the music pulsing as we approached the front doors. Again, I was ready to turn around.

Dave and Randy said we just had to act like we belonged, so Randy grabbed the door pulled it open boldly and walked through, with the rest of us following behind.

“We don’t have to take our clothes off” was playing. We hovered near the back of the room. Dave and Randy took the initiative and asked two girls to dance. I thought that was awesome. I was also just struck by how everyone looked so good.

Then it happened.

This girl walked up to me and asked me to dance.

It was the moment of truth for an insecure 16-year-old high-school kid.

“No, thanks,” I said.

Incredible. Absolutely incredible.

The song ended, the guys seemed pretty thrilled with themselves, and we left. All they really wanted to do was check out the dance, which they did.

We spent the rest of the night cruising up and down Mayor Magrath Drive, then grabbed a pizza at Buffalo Bill's and went home.

The song

“We don’t have to take our clothes off” reached number five on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as number two in Canada and the United Kingdom. The song also appeared on "Miami Vice", as so much pop music of the time did as well.

Parting thoughts

Every time I hear “We don’t have to take our clothes off”, I think of that church dance. I can even still picture the blue striped flannel shirt I was wearing.

I sometimes wish 45-year-old Rob Vogt could go back and give his 16-year-old head a shake. It seems like such a little thing, but I wonder every so often what would have changed in me had I said yes. Would it have given me just a bit more self-confidence when I needed it most? Would we have hung around and danced more? Would we have met some interesting people? And what about the girl? It took courage to ask, and I rejected that? How did that make her feel?

Maybe we would have just left after that one dance was over anyway.

Obviously, without a hot tub time machine, we’ll never know.

But knowing myself, had I had fun I would have wanted to stay, and I know it would not have taken too much to convince the others.

But we’ll never know.